As we patiently waited for Todd Field to helm a new film after “Little Children,” one of the many projects he tried to get off the ground was an adaptation of Jess Walter’s “Beautiful Ruins.” Imogen Poots was attached to lead the project, but unfortunately, it never got going and fell by the wayside. With Field now gearing up to shoot the 20-episode “Purity” next year starring Daniel Craig, “Beautiful Ruins” now has a new name looking to get behind the camera.
THR reports that Sam Mendes has signed up to produce and possibly direct the film that kicks off in the spring of 1962 off the Ligurian Sea, centering on three young characters whose orbit around one another is set in motion by an incident during the shooting of “Cleopatra” and continues on for decades. Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, who have both penned episodes of “Transparent,” will be working on the script, with the project set up over at Fox 2000.
For Mendes, who is now free of any James Bond obligations, this is probably one of those “let’s-see-how-the-script-shapes-up-before-I-direct” deals. And that’s not to mention some other projects on his plate including Disney‘s live action “James And The Giant Peach” and “The Voyeur’s Motel.” Dude has got options, which is a good place to be, so we’ll see which of these ends up taking priority.
